Fornaroli, the road to Haas gets complicated: Toyota pushes for Hirakawa
For Leonardo Fornaroli these are important days. After making the most of his role as McLaren reserve, where he learned from world champion Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, the Piacenza native is looking for the big leap into F1. The path at McLaren is very closed, but the papaya team appreciates him a lot and is pushing to give him a seat in a lower-ranked team in 2027. Thus, the Haas scenario has opened up for Fornaroli, but the road could get complicated.
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Toyota puts pressure on Haas
The American team has Toyota as title sponsor, but the collaboration with the Japanese is much broader. It also involves the technical side – the two parties are, for example, working on a proprietary simulator – and could even extend to driver selection.
According to Autosprint, Toyota has even issued an ultimatum to Haas: either their driver Ryo Hirakawa gets Esteban Ocon’s seat in 2027, or the sponsorship money will be withdrawn.
Who is Ryo Hirakawa
Hirakawa has been working with Toyota for six years and has raced for the Japanese both in Super GT and in the WEC, where he has achieved great satisfaction: two world titles (2022 and 2023) and victory at the 2022 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Fornaroli remains Komatsu’s favorite
Toyota considers Hirakawa ready to step up to Formula 1, an assessment that embarrasses the American team. Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu appreciates Fornaroli very much. He saw him in action during the TPC test in Jerez de la Frontera on June 17 and 18 and prefers him to Hirakawa, who moreover is not a prospect choice, being already 32 years old.
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It remains to be seen who will win this tug of war between Toyota and Haas, with Fornaroli still having other opportunities on the table.
There is also the Cadillac track
The Italian driver can also aim for the Cadillac seat, where Valtteri Bottas’ confirmation seems very unlikely. In this case, the main rival would be Rafael Câmara, favored by the already established relations between Ferrari and the new Formula 1 team.
On the downside, the chances of Colton Herta, who is not convincing in his first year in Formula 2.
